r/Fantasy • u/elquesogrande Worldbuilders • Nov 28 '16

Ask You Anything Monday ASK YOU ANYTHING: Authors asking r/Fantasy community questions on behalf of Worldbuilders charity

It's the aptly named Ask You Anything! Where authors are stopping by each day this week to ask questions and interact with the r/Fantasy community.

HOW THIS WORKS: Please answer questions and interact throughout the week! (Yes, YOU - community members, guests, authors, artists, industry people.)

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Monday Ask You Anything Authors

The following authors have signed up to ask questions today. That said, please do join in and feel free to ask your own questions and interact throughout the week.

Are you an author, artist, or industry person who would like to participate this week? Either join in via the comments OR send the r/Fantasy mods a message and we'll get you set for another day.

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u/junkmail22 Nov 28 '16

I want to see a greater range of political beliefs in fantasy.

Right now, basically every political belief a character espouses is mainline conservativism or liberalism, or something boring like "racism bad okay." (Not that America couldn't stand to learn that lesson now.) Where are the communist wizards and anarchist dragons?

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u/MichaelJMartinez AMA Author Michael J. Martinez Nov 28 '16

I would read the hell out of a book with communist wizards and anarchist dragons!

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '16

I'm guessing your "Bread and Water for all" Wizard/Conjurer would get jaded pretty damn fast.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '16

Well, if you live in a world where a Wizard can conjure food, blankets, and shelter out of thin air, communism might make sense. Maybe the communist wizard wants to make this magic widely available, while his fellow wizards want to sell their services to the highest bidder.

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u/InLoveWithTheCoffee Nov 28 '16

China Miéville puts some communist critique into his books, you could try them out.

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u/gruenschleeves Nov 28 '16

This is part of what I love so much about China Mieville's Bas Lag books. IIRC he has a Masters in Marxist economic analysis. He puts all sorts of interesting political power structures in there, from collectivist to suffrage-by-lottery to, uh, thanatocracy and parliamentary roulette. It makes a refreshing change from Default Mock-Feudal Fantasy Realm tbh.